EGM TIMES VO L U M E 9 I S S U E 2
MARCH - APRIL 2021
EXPOSING | ENCOURAGING | EMPOWERING E LO H I M G O S P E L M I N I S T R I E S
Bridge The Gap
“A state of mind that sees God in everything is evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart.”
- Charles G. Finney
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” - Deuteronomy 31:6
CONTENTS Did you know? - 07 The ‘Why’ factor - 08 #Opinion - 12 Life in between - 14
The EGM INSPIRATIONS podcast was born with a vision to lift the brokenhearted. We provide thought-provoking audio messages that are inspired by the word of God which will enable you to pursue the fullness of life Jesus Christ has promised you. What first started as a casual voice-over session for a devotional book has turned into a much demanded weekly podcast heard and downloaded by growing listeners around the globe. Tune in to experience a definite word of healing and renewal. You will not be disappointed.
DOWNLOAD EGM INSPIRATIONS app All Bible references are from New International Version, English Standard Version, New Living Translation, King James Version. EGM Times is published by Elohim Gospel Ministries, USA & India. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. EGM Times has no subscription price and is supported through contributions worldwide. Because all EGM Times editions are preplanned, we are unable to accept unsolicited manuscripts. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.elohimgospelministries.com President : Evg. Jacob Vilgi Oommen Chief Editor : George Vilgi Oommen Design : EGM Media elohimgospelministries.com egminspirations.com
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EDITORIAL
One of the great privileges in my life is having friends from different parts of the world belonging to different generations. Growing up in India, I got friends from different religions and states. The trend continued as I aged. With the advancement of social media, it is easier to maintain friendships. From this experience, I can say that the gap between different generations, cultures, and ethnicities is real. As children of God, we are called to bridge these gaps to advance the kingdom of God. Apostle Paul gives some insights on this aspect in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. The following words from Paul need no explanation. “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” Yes, we are called to bridge the gaps! We are called to share the love of Christ despite the difference in culture, age, and ethnicity. I pray this edition of EGM Times will challenge you to Bridge the Gaps around you. You can reach the EGM Times team at egmtimes@elohimgospelministries.com God bless you. George Vilgi Oommen Chief Editor
DID YOU KNOW?
The first person to testify the resurrection of Jesus was a woman – Mary Magdalene. John 20:18, Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
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The ‘Why’ Factor Evg. Jacob Vilgi Oommen
In December 2020, God blessed me with a baby girl. I cannot describe how much joy she brings to my heart. Every day I wake up and enjoy the innocent smile she gives to me. With a thankful heart, I take that to my heart, and I overflow with joy! But even in the middle of this joy, many thoughts and questions are reverberating in my mind every day. Being a dad is not an easy task. It's a lifetime responsibility and commitment to love, care and shape my daughter's life the way God wants. With the prayers and wisdom God gave me, I am raising my daughter in God's ways. I recently looked at my daughter's face and asked myself how she will be when she is grown up and when the time comes where she can express her opinions and decisions. After 10 -20 years, will she say the same dialogue of many young people "you cannot understand me because we have a generation gap" "Time has changed, dad this is not the world you have lived in your young age." I have seen many young kids who fall or crush the bridge their parents or elders built with them after investing everything they had for decades. Indeed, my daughter will not grow up in the same situation I did. Everything has changed. As time goes by as technology and the world is changing every minute, my daughter faces different challenges and questions in life, and it will be much different than what I encountered.
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But as the father, it's my responsibility to bridge the gaps between us to make sure she can lead a purposeful life with God's principles. And I don't want to bridge the gaps between my daughter with specific rules and regulations. But I am making her understand the purpose or the why factor. Because following something without a purpose or understanding ‘why’ behind it leads to destruction in the long run. It's a challenge to see things from a child's perspective. Still, it’s my commitment to bridge the gap of age, new challenges she could face to make sure we are connected in a healthier way to fulfill a father and daughter's duties by honoring God. What is the ‘why’ factor I am talking about? Overcoming all the difficulties and differences to help my child learn and grow by trusting in the Lord alone. I pray and believe my daughter will grow up in Christ and become a woman God wants her to be. That's the ‘why factor’ behind my bridge to fill the gap. Ignorance has no place in it.
Bridging the gap in the Christian world is as crucial as the relationship of a father and daughter. As the people of God, we cannot live only with our own opinions and decisions. We must bridge the gap between each other despite the differences by emphasizing the purpose behind our life. We have to accept each other as they are by bridging the gap with the why factor. We are called to build God's Kingdom with His standards. Learn to see others through the eyes of God. Every single person is equal in front of God. I have heard and seen about the churches established decades ago with passion and vision had to close or shrunk by losing the church's very essence and with no younger generation because they failed to bridge the gap with the next generation. As the body of Christ, it's our responsibility to bridge the gap between the younger and elder generation so that they can take over the vision at the right time and propel forward by fulfilling God's commission. How can we bridge the gap in the body of Christ? Bridge the Gap with the ‘why’ factor: Very often, elders try to set rules and regulations for the upcoming generations to follow. If anyone doesn't obey the rules set, we lose our temper and mark that person as ungodly. This pattern harms the younger generation than helping them. Maintain a good relationship with the younger generation where they can come and talk to you about anything at any time. Touch their soul, not their brain, when rules touch their brain, the ‘why factor’ touches their soul. Make them understand why you have to follow God? Why you have to keep the principles of God's Kingdom? I am sure if we do that, we will build a generation that cannot be shaken by anything of this world but carry the commission of God you have transferred over to them. Because they know why they are doing what they are doing.
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Humility: Sometimes, we know people who stand opposed to us are correct, but our pride motivates us to be adamant to forget the purpose we stand for and fight each other to prove our own opinions. End of the day, all it matters is, as the people of God, are we able to fulfill God's purpose despite our pride and egos? We see so many churches split and assemble within a couple of miles radius due to the lack of humility and lack of revelation on purpose. Even if a younger person advises, do we have the humility to take it? Similar way, when an older person corrects us, do we have the humility to take it? When we study the Bible, Jesus showed us the perfect example of bridging the gap between people despite their position, wealth, or age. Being a human is the only qualification Jesus looked to bridge the gaps to touch their souls. In Matthew 19:13-14 (NIV), we see how Jesus reacted to the disciple who rebuked letting the children come near to Jesus. Then people brought little children to Jesus to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." It's a sad reality that the day-by-day Christian world is influenced and corrupted by this world's pattern. It's time for us to wake up from the deceptiveness of the devil and repent. If we fail to bridge the gap with the upcoming generation in all aspects, we are on the road to destruction. We need a generation who is ready to take our baton and move forward with the great commission of God in this world. We are the body of Christ, who is called to stand united to destroy the territories of the devil. We should not fight each other but fight for each other with the devil. “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you” - 2 Corinthians 13:11
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#Opinion Let’s work together - George Vilgi Oommen
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With a recent additional responsibility, I was working closely with people older and younger than me at the same time for the past couple of months. It has been an enlightening experience in my life. Every generation is different. The background in which every generation grows up is different. Some people embrace the difference. Some people totally disregard the difference and shun them away. Each generation has something unique to offer. We cannot ignore the experience of the generation before us nor the advancements made by the generation younger than us. We can see a wonderful example of people from different generations working together in the book of Joshua chapter 3. The people of Israel moved out from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Just before the Israelites entered the promised land of Canaan, Moses died. Now they have a new leader – Joshua. When they started the journey from Egypt, one of the first issues they faced was the red sea. There God used Moses to divide the red sea. God commanded Moses to lift his rod/stick, and then God sent some winds to divide the red sea. Now the people of Israel are facing a similar issue. It’s the Jordan River. But there is a difference this time. There is no Moses. Of all the adults who were 20 or above started from Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb are alive. Rest all are from a different generation. When Moses was the leader, the red sea was departed by his stick. But under Joshua’s leadership, God worked differently. In the case of Moses, the sea became ‘road’ and they set their foot on dry land in the middle of the divided sea. So obviously, when a similar situation happened, the first thought would be that God would do the same miracle again. Departing the Jordan river first and then later walk through the dry path. But here, God is working differently. The priests were carrying the ark, then as soon as their feet touched the water by the edge, the miracle happened - Jordan divided. Joshua from the older generation is working with the priests from the younger generation. The result? A miracle from God. Let’s strive to work together. Let’s expect miracles from God!
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LIFE INLifeBETWEEN In Between
Complacency is a choice too
Around the globe, we had lost millions of lives to Covid-19 in the past year and just when we thought it’s all over, the second wave has started. Currently, India tops the average daily Covid-19 cases across the world and the situation is such that in many parts of the country, people are not able to get ambulance services or hospital beds. The pain of having to watch your loved one’s life slip away is aggravated by the long queues at the burial grounds and cremation centres in India.
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And by burning four to five dead bodies on a single pyre, the dignity of human life is also stripped away. The Truth is, none of us were prepared for this pandemic and we have had our own share of loss and stress through the season. But the truth also is, the poor and marginalized were affected disproportionately. Many were pushed into starvation, flesh trade, child marriage, poverty and excessive debts[1]. But strangely, we don’t hear much about this in our churches. Unsurprisingly, vaccines made headlines across the world as it ought to have. But other than encouraging everyone to get vaccinated, there is no conversation around how expensive it is in many parts of the world. We see many socialist countries distributing it for free, but many across the world are made to pay out of their pockets though 97% of the vaccine (Oxford AstraZeneca) research was done using public funding[2]. This would result in the poor having less access to vaccines, making them highly vulnerable to the virus infection. In light of these events, one needs to look at the role governments play in this. For instance, in India, though the cases have crossed more than two lakh a day[3], the incumbent government is conducting election campaigns with thousands of people and in many cases, without following the Covid-19 protocols. A couple of months before, we saw the same trend in the US elections.
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Now your question could be, how does it matter? Or, why is a Christian magazine carrying a political article? The answer is, our faith requires us to defend the rights of the poor and the marginalized and the Bible has explicitly given instructions on that. For instance, Isaiah 58:6-7. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” (Psalms 82:3) In a dreadful crisis like this, it is simply not enough for us to live our lives thanking God for his protection and providence. We ought to realize that the blessing we get to enjoy is purely by his grace and it is not meant to make it all about ourselves. We need to stretch beyond our families and church groups and look out for those who are struggling around us. Our time, resources, social networks, skills, education are gifts to be used for the service and defence of the vulnerable around us. Defending the rights of those who are in need also requires us to take action. And sometimes, it means to speak up, create awareness, question those in power and more importantly, intercede for them. Faith is incomplete without actions, just like the Apostle James says, ‘faith without works is dead.’ But also remember that we need to do this with a humble heart just as what the prophet Micah says- “Act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) I hope and pray that we will be strongly convicted that ‘we were created for a time like this’ and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in serving our communities selflessly, just like Jesus did. God bless.
Daya Raja, Bangalore Daya thinks it’s absolutely cool to be known by Jesus. She deeply appreciates nature, art and silence. Currently, she is pursuing Masters in Development in India. Her dream is to fall in love with Jesus and humanity every day. Daya can be reached at dayaraja95@gmail.com
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Final Word Dear friend,
Thank you for making it to the end of this edition of EGM Times. We believe that you are challenged to bridge the gaps and share the love of Christ with everyone around you. If you are reading this and have not experienced the love and power of God, we encourage you to embrace His love – offered as salvation through Jesus Christ. If you have experienced this love before and had gone back from it, we urge you to come back to His love. There is nothing impossible for God to work in your life. We encourage you to experience this savior in your life. We at EGM Times team would like to hear from you at egmtimes@elohimgospelministries.com. See you in the next edition. God bless you!!! Team EGM Times
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